"Unity without verity is no better than conspiracy." - John Trapp
"i repent, i repent of trading truth for false unity" - Derek Webb

A blog on miscellaneous topics of theology and Christianity.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

Random Thoughts

The following is pretty much worthless, but I've really been behind on blogging so I thought I'd put something up two days in a row just to prove that I could. My next stunt will be to put up two things that have at least some value . . .

I've had a little time this week to peruse some old haunts, otherwise known as the blogs on the right. Certain things became evident quickly. One, major bloggers are either much more dedicated to this than I, or they have more free time, or they are better managers of their time. Probably some combination of the first and the last.

Second, there's all kinds of interesting posts out there, but I'm sitting here beside a stack of books I'd like to read. How does one make a priority call. Blogs are nice in that, even the wordy ones, you can easily complete the post and, usually, the comments in a single sitting. But are blogs to serious writing what pop music is to classical music (that's a tenuous analogy for me because I really don't know much about classical music, except that it tends to be long)? Seriously though, do blogs allow us to do sound bite theology?

Third, two of the Pyro guys, among others, are talking about Blogger Beta. Now, I like my blog. Sure it is simple and plain. I don't have the graphics of the Pyro's, nor Centuri0n's stats, and don't get me started about Challies, but this is home. When I want to make a point, any break from the basic black and white makes the point stand out. But I know technology. The change is inevitable, like the tide.

Finally, we sure like certain topics, don't we? Months after Desiring God national conference M.D.'s name still shows up in posts, most frequently those who have a bone to pick. Maybe it's a legitimate bone; I just don't have the desire to read anymore about it. At this point, I don't see a blog post having a great amount of influence on anyone's opinion of Mark.

3 Comments:

Anonymous said...

Good thoughts, actually...

What I am trying to do is both, I am trying to get the theological ball rolling in some minds, while still feeding the ones that already are involved with the Word...3D Christianity (doctrine, devotion, demonstration) in a usable, on the go form...and also things they can go back and ponder later, deep stuff, not as deep stuff, all of it...sweeping them into thoughts, issues, doctrine, a little, here, a lot there, mixing it all up, and thereby rounding them out...

I mean it, I know it is a tall order for sure, but I think it can be done in such a format, well at least leading them to more study, and augmenting what they may already do, and giving succinct, yet precise ideas and articulations of the great doctrines, and common questions about Christian life and thought...

I am an extremely big believer that this forum will enhance even a solid Christian life, and I am aiming for all types, even those PhD’s who may already be fully vested...I want the pastor, the layman, the theologian, the scholar, the mom, the kids, the smart, the not so smart...I believe with all my being that this is an instrument God wants me to sue to its fullest potential...and I truly believe the potential is nearly limitless...

It can be done, it may be harder, but it is right, IMHO...

It is like preachers who learn Reformed ways, in all candor, they often bore the socks off me, they teach and do not preach...they can still be able to preach like and IFB fireball, while still maintaining doctrinal precision...as I said, much harder, but still attainable...I wrote a post called "use all the tools" which goes into this a little...

Books, blog, broadcast, all tied together...we will get the Word out about the Word...

There are so many blogs I would like to read AND my own stack of books as well. Unfortunately, I get intimidated by longer blog posts and hardly even skim them even though they may have good content. I just can't afford to invest the time. But if someone asks whether I've read a printed book like The Suburban Christian, I feel justified in carving the time to digest things of that nature. So I keep the blogging light. That even goes for the comments. If I have to read a bunch of links first and can't be in and out in less than fifteen minutes, I feel like I must pass.

Oh, and I switched to Blogger Beta. I was able to keep the same look as before.

I can see the value, I guess I'm just trying to establish some priorities. Like Craver, I think I'm going to have to avoid some of the longer blog posts, particularly those with a lot of comments.

As others have noted on some blogs, it is frequently that the more encouraging and doctrinal (I see the two as nearly synonymous, or at least heavily intertwined) don't often get a lot of comments anyway.

I'm still skiddish about Beta. I've tried posting comments over at Voice and was not able to do so. I tried both from Firefox 2.0 and from IE7. I tried both with my blogger account and as "other" (though I didn't try anonymous). It may have been a glitch, but I think I'll wait a while.